Let's be honest here; Max Payne 3 will not be on most people's top games of 2012 short list. Hell, even the long lists. I know some people who actively hated it. But that sure didn't stop me from enjoying it immensely.

When Max Payne was originally developed by Remedy (those Scandinavian guys behind Alan Wake), there was always a humorous bent to the bleak, noir universe that Max inhabited. The comic book panel cutscenes, the tongue in cheek manner of Max's gravely narration- these elements were key points of the game that always made it a little ridiculous, and I enjoyed that. Fast forward to 2012, and publisher Rockstar has taken up the reigns as developer on the last generation franchise. Along with the generation and developer switch, Rockstar brought the gritty and realistic bent of it's most recent Grand Theft Auto title (the polarizing GTA IV) to the series for an equally divided outcome in opinions. Obviously, I liked it.

Gone was the patent ridiculousness of the previous games, but with it came a harsh, mature bleak neo-noire tone that really makes MP3 stand out from the typical third person shooter. It revels in the excessive violence and grit of its story, and the realistic visuals contribute to the feeling of dread that comes with each slow motion kill animation. Rockstar takes the inconsequential slaughtering of enemies that has become stereotypical of recent shooters, and given it weight. I grimaced every time I blasted someone point blank with a 12-gauge pump shotgun, feeling each bullet hit its target in a far more meaningful way than any Call of Duty or Gears of War ever has.

The game doesn't stop there though. The story, while predictable, is personal and decidedly bleak- perfect for the noir tone of the series. There is sun in Sao Paulo, but no warmth. The gameplay and shooting are rock solid, and the visuals are the cherry on the top. Built in GTA's RAGE engine, the limited scope of Max Payne's environments allows for an astounding wealth of detail. The animation is also a high point, with Max's movements feeling realistic and measured- normal people groan when they hit the ground after jumping over a desk, and here Max does too.

On the whole, Max Payne 3 exhibits the level of polish and playability we have become to expect from a Rockstar title. But in taking the series and making it their own, rather than making another "me too" sequel, Rockstar has crafted one of the finest games I have played all year.

To the majority of the elitist PC gaming community, 2012's first person shooter reboot of the 90's strategy title Syndicate was an utter disgrace. To me, they all look like idiots. Because Syndicate was f**king cool.

Developed by Starbreeze, the twisted minds who brought you the first person Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, and the first Darkness, Syndicate is a gritty, cyberpunk FPS that involves corporate espionage, brain chips and lots of general uberviolence. Players who have played their previous titles will know that they have a talent for immersive first person animation and visceral combat. Not much has changed here, and you'll feel it with every limb dismemberment and face stomp.

As Miles Kilo (possibly the most badass future name of all time), you are an agent for Eurocorp, one of several major corporations- all of which have supplanted nations, as governments became privatized. Your job is to infiltrate other corporations and make off with their secrets. Corporate espionage so to speak- only this time it involves a lot more shooting people in the face.

Another game pushing the visual boundaries of the current consoles, Syndicate is stunning. With performances by Rosario Dawson and the perennially scummy Brian Cox (don't worry, he's excellent), the presentation overall is worth mentioning, despite the game's shorter 8-hour campaign.

The game also ships with a co-op mode that is designed for 4 players, and doesn't scale downward to accommodate fewer. If you want a challenge, jump in with a friend and try and finish them with only 2. You'll have your work cut out for you.

And for those of you still on the fence, being held back by memories of the original Syndicate, I urge you to give it a try. It doesn't have the same gameplay of the series' RTS past, but it maintains the dystopian future cyberpunk feel so well, it doesn't seem so far-fetched to call it a sequel. It doesn't have a persuade-a-tron, but it'll still let you make an enemy turn against his team before killing himself. And that's just as awesome.

"Hey vault hunter, Handsome Jack here, president of Hyperion. let me just tell you how things work. Vault hunter shows up, Vault hunter looks for the new vault, Vault hunter gets killed. By me. You seeing the problem here? You're still alive. So if you could just do me a favor and off yourself that'd be great. Thanks pumpkin."

Never have I loved to hate a villain more than Handsome Jack. A truly compelling asshole, you can't decide whether you want to burst out laughing at his absurdity, or gun him down in cold blood (here's a hint: you'll probably end up doing the second one).

When the first Borderlands came out in 2009, I had just recently gotten a computer capable of playing games. And on a whim, I picked it up... It became one of my favorite games of the year. It wasn't perfect, however. The basically nonexistent story dragged, the enemy AI was terrible and the environments were monotonous and similar. But the gameplay, the gameplay was a revelation. Gearbox somehow managed to create the perfect blend of Diablo and Duke Nukem; a quirky FPS-RPG hybrid with tons of laughs, and loads and LOADS of loot. Guns, mostly.

Flash forward to 2012, and the sequel is bigger, better... Borderlandsier. It succeeds on many levels that the first title failed, and in no way is this transformation more represented than in the sequel's charismatic villain, Handsome Jack. There's still room for improvement in this franchise, but if you're looking for a great way to kill time (and loads of Bonerfart-- AHEM, Bullymongs) with some friends, I can't think of many better ways to do it than with Borderlands 2.

If you put Thief, Half Life 2 and Bioshock in a blender, and you'd get... well, either a complete mess, or... if you're really lucky, something like Dishonored. Crafted from the same cloth as the FPS/RPG classics of yore, Dishonored drops you into the shoes of Korvo, a bodyguard-turned-assassin seeking to redeem his tarnished name and return his former ward to the throne.

While the story doesn't really get a whole lot deeper than "Get revenge, stab dudes," the world it inhabits, the city of Dunwall, leaves a far more lasting impression. Going from mission to mission, I spent hours in each level, talking to NPCs, sneaking around (and yes, stabbing dudes), without making any progress in the main quest whatsoever. And all of these things are optional. It astounds me that the team at Arkane studios was willing to create such a wealth of content that the majority of players could never see. It would be entirely possible to go through the game and never encounter or discover half of what Dishonored has to offer.

None of this extra content would be fun, however, were it not backed up by Dishonored's gameplay, which has been polished to a mirror sheen. Never before have I played a stealth game where it's actually rewarding to get caught. Combat is an environmental puzzle, and getting spotted simply changes the objective from "how do I get through this area without alerting anyone" to "how do I kill all these guards in the fastest, most efficient way possible". And the combination of melee combat, gunplay, and supernatural powers (think Plasmids-lite) makes dealing with enemies enjoyable, rather than a chore.

So, despite the fact that the story never gets going past it's rather vanilla roots, the rock-solid gameplay and fascinating universe easily land Dishonored on my short list for best games of the year.

Over the next couple days, I'll be counting down my favorite games of 2012. Before I get to my top ten, and my reasoning behind my choices, I wanted to take some time to write about a few games that didn't make that list.

These are the might have beens. They were so close they could taste it. But they just didn't make it on to my Game of the Year list. There were only ten slots, and cutting most of these was excruciating. But they still absolutely deserve mentioning. And playing. In no particular order.

Dear Esther

Dear Esther was more of an interactive story than a game. Only about an hour long, it weaves a tale of sadness, told in first person and coupled with a lonely journey around a deserted island. Despite being built in Valve's aging Source engine, it has some of the most beautiful visuals I've seen this year, and the developer The Chinese Room's tact with incorporating story and atmosphere into Dear Esther has me super excited for their input on the upcoming Amnesia sequel.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Yeah, it's Counter-Strike. Dust is still Dust. Aztec is still Aztec. And I'm still getting my ass handed to me in gun game. But you know what? It's the best damn version of CS yet, combining the precision gameplay of CS 1.4 with the prettier visuals of CS: Source, Valve brought a masterful multiplayer shooter back - on consoles and PC - with a bang.

Persona 4: Golden

Let's get something straight. If I had never played Persona 4 before, and it had never come out on the Playstation 2 back in 2008, this would not only be the best reason to get a PS Vita, this would be one of the best goddamn games of all time. Ever. But it did come out in 2008, and thus I am forced to leave it off my top ten to make room for more current fare. That being said, this is undoubtedly the definitive version of Persona 4- it feels like the game Atlus wanted to give us in 2008, but they ran out of time. Characters are more fleshed out, there is more to do, the world has more life to it... It is an incredible experience from top to bottom (and still the best game on Vita to date). So if you've never played it, go get it now, and even if you have consider it- it's worth reliving.

Frog Fractions

Frog Fractions is a flash game. It's free. You can play it right HERE. Oh, and it's goddamned amazing, I won't say more here, but just know that there is more to it than meets the eye.

and finally,

Super Hexagon

A round of Super Hexagon usually takes me between 15 and 30 seconds. But I'd be surprised if I hadn't sunk several hours into this awesome iPhone (and PC now) game. It's deceptively simple, but devilishly tricky- and with three difficulty levels (Hard, Harder and Hardest) I'll probably be playing it for a lot longer.